Kinds and Types of Sources

Sources, their use in forming arguments, and their analysis, are central to history subjects. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you learn
what they are and in what forms they come.

A source is something that survives from the past or something that describes the past. There are two kinds of sources: primary and
secondary.

Primary Sources

Primary sourcescome from the time that is being investigated. These are often the hardest to find but, as a
result, are often the strongest evidence you can use in your assessment pieces.

There are many different types of primary evidence:

PublishedDocuments:this includes books, magazines, newspapers, government documents, reports, advertisements, maps, posters, legal documents, and other kinds of literature. When reviewing
published documents, remember that just because something was published does not make it accurate or reliable.

Unpublished Documents:These are
personal documents that were never intended for wide circulation. Examples include personal letters, diaries, wills, deeds, school report cards, and similar things. Unlike published
documents, unpublished records may be difficult to find because few copies exist. In some cases, unpublished documents can be collected and eventually published, but keep in mind that
they were not originally intend for public knowledge.

VisualDocuments:These include photographs, films, paintings, and other types of artwork. Visual documents capture moments
in time and can provide evidence about a culture at specific moments in history: its customs, styles, special occasions, work, and play. Like other primary source documents, a visual
document has a creator with a perspective - such as a painter, sculptor, or filmmaker. Using visual documents as primary sources requires careful interpretation what the message is.

Relics or Artefacts:This includes pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings and other
excavated physical items. Archaeological material provides evidence that either corroborates with or contradicts literary
sources.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sourcesare made after the time being investigated by the historian. As you progress as a History
student, you will start to find that some secondary sources are better than others. As a general rule, value secondary sources that are created by scholars, as they are usually more reliable.

However, whilst modern scholars aim to produce reliable and unbiased historical accounts, read their writings with
the same critical eye as you would primary source creators.

Like primary sources, secondary sources come in different types:

Books:Books, like school textbooks, often have large amounts of evidence about a
particular historical period, author, theme or region. Not only are these useful for expanding your historical knowledge and background research, but
they can also provide you with some good primary sources.

AcademicJournal Articles:Scholarly research undertaken by university academics is published in academic journals. Journal articles are often the result of many years of research by specialists in particular
areas of History. As a result, they contain a lot of information and usually draw heavily on primary sources. However, journals are written for an academic audience, so the language can be very difficult to read at first. Also, be aware that different academics and
universities can have their own idiosyncratic perspective, which may result in a bias in their articles. You can find secondary sources on websites such as JSTOR or Google Scholar.

Websites: Internet sites vary widely in accuracy, reliability and relevance. Most websites that come up on a Google search are not of sufficient quality for high school or
university essays. If you choose to use websites as secondary sources, make sure you only use websites from respectable individuals or institutions (universities, museums, government
archives, etc.).

Demonstrating source kind and type in your writing:

The Gallic Wars
is a firsthand, written account of Julius Caesar’s invasion of Gaul.

In a series of letters written in 1914 to the Russian Tsar, German Kaiser Wilhelm II wrote that “the responsibility for the disaster which is now threatening the whole civilised world will not
lie at my door” (1914, n.p.).